Sacred Flame: His Enemy, His Mate (BL)-Chapter 99: Hallucinating?

Kain Locke

Five months later

"That’s all I could get for today," Alec announced, dumping the sack of groceries on the table with a tired sigh.

Audrey immediately sprang off the couch, tossing the remote behind him without a second thought. "Took you long enough," he grumbled, diving into the bag. "You got an apple? Great. That’s why I love you," he added, leaning in dramatically to kiss Alec on the cheek before Alec could dodge it.

Alec shoved him away with a roll of his eyes.

Unbothered, Audrey grinned, smacking his lips like it was all routine. "Want an apple?" he asked, turning to Brian, who gave a small nod from where he sat curled up in the corner.

My chest tightened at the sight.

He’s been like this for weeks now... Quiet. Detached. Even when I try to cheer him up or talk to him, he just brushes me off, like every little effort I make is too much for him to bear. It hurts, but I get it. He’s just a kid, and all of this... it’s too much.

Audrey tossed the apple to me. "You wash it for him. I’m starving," he said before disappearing into the kitchen. "Come help with the vegetables, if nothing else. You can’t cook worth shit, but at least try to make today count and not butcher the pepper this time."

"Audrey," Alec called, clearly warning him.

"What?" Audrey barked back at him. "It’s always ’Audrey this, Audrey that’ around here. How about yelling at him for once, huh? Or did you forget I’m the one making your damn meals? I’m not your personal kitchen slave, you know!?"

I just shook my head with a quiet sigh and followed him into the kitchen.

I rinsed the apple, called Brian over with a soft voice, and handed it to him. He took it without a word, nibbling on it slowly, eyes still distant even as he walked back to the little sitting room.

Then I turned to help with the vegetables. Audrey had already started boiling something, the smell of spices beginning to fill the cramped space. This was our routine now.

Ever since I ruined that first pot of food, yeah, it ended up straight in the trash, Audrey took over the cooking completely. Said we couldn’t risk wasting any more supplies. He wasn’t wrong after all we’re doing all we could to lay low for now.

****

As Audrey worked in the kitchen, I helped him pick out the vegetables and spices he needed. We moved in a quiet rhythm, until he suddenly asked, "What about him?"

I blinked. "Who?"

He looked at me like I was slow. "Didn’t we agree you’d take the boy to that elementary school today? Or are you planning to raise a future bum now?"

I sighed, placing the washed tomato on the counter and letting my thoughts catch up.

Right. We did talk about that.

It’d been five months since we started living like this, on the run, hiding, constantly watching our backs. And Brian... he’d gone through all of it with me. A child. Being dragged from one place to another like luggage, never knowing where we’d end up next. I hated myself for that. For every time I had to tell him to stay quiet, stay low, stay afraid.

The least I could do was give him something normal. Even if it was just a small elementary school in this dusty part of town.

"Yeah," I muttered. "I’ll take him after we eat."

Audrey gave a small nod and returned to slicing something, but after a few seconds, he paused again.

"Just be careful out there," he said, quieter now. "Register him. And... come back in one piece, alright?"

I met his eyes and gave a nod. "Will do."

He smiled faintly, then gave my arm a light tug. "Now go get ready. I’ll handle the rest. Not like you’re much help in here anyway."

That made me chuckle for the first time in a while. A real one.

"Thanks," I said, about to step out when he called behind me.

"Wait a minute..."

I stopped turning to face him, "What is it?"

"Umm..." he scratched his head, "Are you going into heat soon?"

"Heat? I doubt that."

"Then my nose is acting up, no way you’re giving off pheromones.. right?"

That caught me off guard considering my heat over the past few months was now fluctuating. I sniffed myself but caught nothing, "I still took suppressant last week, shouldn’t be my heat... maybe it’s something with the groceries."

"M’kay." He said and I hummed in response before finally stepping out of the kitchen.

Brian was still nibbling silently on the apple, his small hands curled around it. Across from him, Alec sat hunched over that thick journal again, eyes focused as he scribbled something onto the page. He’d been doing that for weeks now, writing, drawing, diagramming... something. All I know is that he never let us peek.

It was strange, but I guess we all had our own way of coping.

I looked at Brian, then back at Alec’s bent form.

And for a fleeting moment, I wondered, was this really just temporary?

Or... is this how I’m going to continue living?

Anyway... it doesn’t matter now, does it? Besides

If it weren’t for me, they all would still have peace. Freedom. A normal life.

But because of me... we are all on edge every single day.

And gods, it’s exhausting.

I slipped into the room and changed into something decent, something Alec had gotten for me weeks ago.

He has been everything nice, and even Audrey has been too, might not be good at showing it.

I was... grateful. Really.

Brian was already dressed, and most importantly, he had finished his apple, so he was waiting patiently by the door with that quiet stillness he’d learned far too young. I picked him up gently and walked back out.

"Going out?" Alec asked without looking at me.

"Yeah. I’m taking him to the elementary school we checked out," I said. "He’s starting today. I’ll be back soon."

Alec looked up from the journal and closed it. "Then I’ll come with you."

I shook my head quickly. "No... no need. I can handle it. You’ve done enough already," I added. "You look exhausted." I mean he would, given that he’s been carrying all of us for weeks, "Alec. Just... take a break. Please."

There was a flicker in his eyes, hesitation, maybe guilt, but he nodded eventually. "Alright. Be safe then."

I nodded, adjusting Brian’s weight in my arms. "I will."

And then I left, stepping into the sunlight that didn’t feel warm anymore, the street also looked like any quiet, local place, unlike the cities I’d been dragged through before. Civilization here was sparse.

I don’t even doubt that network connection would be terrible, if we even had a phone or any device to test it.

The elementary school wasn’t far from the small apartment we’d moved into a month ago. Just a short walk.

So I walked. Brian’s hand in mine, his little steps steady beside mine.

We walked a few more minutes and we’re in the school, and I didn’t need to ask around, considering the fact that this wasn’t our first time here.

A few days ago, we came to register him. It’s a local place, small and simple, and thankfully, it didn’t require much paperwork. Since it’s just a temporary enrollment, they didn’t ask too many questions either.

We went straight to the teacher’s office, and thankfully, she still remembered me.

"Oh, is he the one? Your little boy I mean?" she asked with a warm smile.

"Yes," I replied quietly, my hand resting on Brian’s shoulder.

"He looks adorable," she said, crouching slightly to smile at him. Then her tone shifted, curious but gentle. "Are you sure he’s going to be here for a while?"

I gave her a firm nod. "Yes."

She nodded back, seemingly satisfied, and fetched a few papers from her desk. "I actually prepared these over the weekend, just in case. You’ll only need to go to the headmistress’s office and answer a few more questions, mostly about your Alpha."

I tensed slightly but kept my expression still.

She glanced at me, her voice softening. "I figured you might not want to talk about it. But how could he do such a thing to a cute child like this?" She shook her head with a sigh. "Men will be men, anyway."

Before I could say anything, she added, "Oh, and once you get the headmistress’s signature, it’s all official. In the meantime, I’ll introduce him to his new classmates."

I nodded again. "Thank you."

Honestly, I had to give Audrey credit for that story he came up with, about a runaway Alpha and a mother doing his best. He played the doting aunt so well, he won this woman over like she was born to believe it.

It worked, though. That’s what mattered.

***

I walked out of the office as soon as I got the signature, this was going easy so far.

I headed straight for the classroom where Brian was being introduced to his new classmates. Thankfully, I found it quickly, one of the few blessings today had offered.

But the moment I stepped into the room, I froze.

My heart lurched,

Standing beside the teacher was someone I never expected to see here, of all places, in this remote town, in this school given that the last time I saw him was... well over six months ago in city C where I told him goodbye.. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

I must be hallucinating... because there’s no way Felix should be here.